MAY 31, 2006

McLaren out of F1 Commission

The FIA has now confirmed the leak of yesterday which suggested that McLaren and Toyota would not get representation on the new Formula 1 Commission in 2008. The World Council used a fax vote to appoint the new 2008 commission which includes a representative from the FIA, one from the commercial rights holder, five promoters (Australia, Brazil, Hungary, Monaco and Spain) and six teams: Red Bull Racing, Renault, BMW Sauber, Ferrari, Honda and Williams F1. The selection is based on national licences and Red Bull has managed to get a place having decided to apply for an Austrian racing licence, although the team does not yet have this sorted out.

Toyota will presumably not be too unhappy as it will get some voice when it begins its engine supply deal with Williams.

The real victim of all of this is McLaren-Mercedes and one can put this down to the fact that Max Mosley and Ron Dennis do not get on well. The decision to structure the commission in this way is a reflection on the faults of both men: Dennis had a tendency to make long and complicated arguments which annoy Mosley; and Mosley seems to think that getting one over on Dennis is more important than building a totally credible F1 Commission.

When all is said and done, however, the F1 Commission is not that important as its decisions can always be overruled by the World Council, which is firmly stuffed with Mosley's political supporters from the motor clubs around the world.